Lessons From Heroes Con

It's Not About Superheroes

I try to make a point about learning stuff from Conventions I go to from creators that I admire. Even if those lessons are not what I expect them.

Know Your Cons & Your Audience

At a few tables, I saw creators who have their work online in platforms like Tapas and Webtoon. But they were the minority of people there.

The creator of the animal rights series Calico told me that the manga style comics weren’t at his table because the con was focused on Western styles. Bit of a shame because the backup stories of those comics, Green-Eye Bandito are my preferred bits when the direction this series went through got wild. And they’re only in the manga.

But more than that, it’s one thing to show up at a comic convention with a comic, but you have to know what kind of style your applying with. While I have yet to see any bande dessinee focused cons outside of Europe, that style will look out of place if you go to a con like this or a manga one. Just because they’re all in the same medium, they’ve all got fans who put up barriers.

Because that’s going to decide what audiences are going to be at the conventions. One table with creators who put their work on GlobalComix were quite surprised to see a guy who kept track of developments on there.

Some people opted out of digital altogether. Good for collectors and diehard fans who want to own things from their favorite creators. Especially if they can spend a lot of money on you. But not so great if you’re marketing to grow your audience.

Give Out Promotions, But Don’t Expect Much

One big reason I took the trip at all was Sirius Entertainment and Poison Elves. As a backer on their most recent project, I got to interact with Sirius’ reps and get a postcard with a discount code on it. More merch for me!

The guy in front of me though spent a great amount of cash for basically the same deal as a Kickstarter campaign but without the shipping costs and fees.

I did not need to spend hundreds of dollars of stuff since I still have the USBs for digital copies from the campaigns! And no, I did not need merch! I just wanted to talk to the reps because they were a bit hard to find.

Sirius was impressed to see someone come all the way out to Charlotte! Despite calling out to their backers and having the option I got open, I doubt even their most dedicated fans would have made the trip.

It’s great that creators can do stuff like this for fans to feel rewarded for their loyalty. But neither the creators or the fans should expect anything big.

Creators can’t gamble away some change they might need later on marketing. Especially for conventions. Between time & money budgets, less public travel access, table placements, and competition from newer and more trendy creators you can’t expect it to go smoothly.

And since this convention was focused on independent creators, this can be a big blow. Even with assistance from a big team to help out like with Cosmic Lion Productions. They’re a network of… You know what, I never even saw their marketing and lucked out on finding some cartoonist they’re giving their logo to. One that I liked no less.

And fans are always at risk of coming away disappointed when the thing they’re trying out doesn’t feel like it’s worth the money they’re spending it on. Especially if it’s an unfamiliar thing they just don’t have the enthusiasm to try.

Some creators like Sirius and Elfquest’s the Pinis are lucky to have fans who will have people give them a second look. It’s great to have a core audience! But not everyone can be Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon with highly devoted fans that stick around for 30 years. Let alone have the patience to wait for the next development.

You’ve got to find them by taking a necessary risk.

When To Use A Digital Strategy

In the modern world, it is next to impossible to not be surrounded by digital mediums. Games, streaming, these are all things people have access and exposure to. But what about promoting to people who only want physical stuff?

Personally speaking, I like supporting creators I like and buying stuff from them when they’re physically exclusive. And not a bunch of decorated junk! Even then, the physical stuff has to be worth getting. Otherwise, it’s just more stuff taking up my space.

But I’ve also noticed a few problems on a personal and bigger level. I prefer comics that can keep its pace’s momentum going. And I’m finding less of those in Western comics, digital and physical.

Even worse, I have less time on my hands due to how my life is going. Frankly, to sound like a broken record, the drip feed models in most manga apps and webtoons’ accessibility have become very fulfilling. Mostly.

Between loads of awkward dialogue, presentations that play it so safe it’s sterile, sensory overload from details that don’t play a part in the story, plot developments that felt out-of-place, and frankly uninteresting characters despite the hype surrounding them I’ve felt my attention slipping away. Like I can’t move because I feel like I’m going to waste precious time.

I still have trouble getting through some of the books on my shelf because of this. And because of where I work, I can’t bring them with me when I do get into them.

So having something I can read on my phone while on off time has been a huge boon.

Because the truth is, as much as I hear about these core fans of creators only wanting physicals, it’d be great to have casual fans too.

And the average person is not a bunch of middle-aged men with loads of disposable income they casually throw away. It’s anyone who knows the value of free time and convenience. That way you have a better chance of growing your target audience. Because you can assure them that getting the physical edition of their product is worth it.